Next tech around the corner?: A wristband to help keep you sober

You may soon have a more subtle way to monitor alcohol intake — and it’ll be right on your wrists.

The BACtrack Skyn — a wristband that measures blood alcohol content (BAC) and wirelessly sends information to a smartphone — was the winning entry in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge and earned its developers a $200,000 prize.

BACtrack, the company that already makes a popular breathalyzer, believes that its newest prototype has the potential to be a big success particularly because of its design and affordability.

“We want to do for wearable alcohol monitors what we did for breath alcohol testers,” says Keith Nothacker, BACtrack CEO and president, in a press release.

With this device and its ability to sync with an app, BACtrack aims to utilize its target consumer’s reliance on smartphones. The website claims that phones could vibrate to notify users or even friends and family when they approach riskier BAC levels.

However, according to Reuters, the device and app only present a recent history of BAC levels and cannot currently provide data in real-time, like breathalyzers and instead has a delay of about 45 minutes. Still, medical professionals — including George Koob, director of the NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism — believe the device would be useful for doctors and their intoxicated patients.

“It can help doctors accurately measure a patient’s drinking history, and not just depend on the most recent tests,” Koob told Reuters. “This can help a lot with the treatment.”

In his submission video for the “Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge,” Nothacker notes that his team wanted to shift the perspective surrounding such monitors. They believe that in place of suggesting that the wearer had a drinking problem, the monitor would be something of a fashion statement as well.

Those interested in buying the first BACtrack Skyns can join the waiting list on the product’s website. According to the press release, limited quantities will be sold before the new year.

Anjali Bhat is a student at University of California, Davis and a USA TODAY collegiate correspondent.